Four Approaches to Interpreting Revelation

There was a time when I believed that there was only one way to interpret the book of Revelation - it was a book of prophecy of things still to come, including amongst other things the rapture of His church by Jesus Christ, followed by a seven year tribulation, and Christ returning to earth for 1000 years. I really didn't see how the book could be interpreted any other way.

As my interest in end times literature grew, I discovered that not only was this not the only way of interpreting Revelation, but it was in fact just one of four methods of interpretation.

Here is a summary of the four approaches to interpreting Revelation.

The Historicist Approach - Historicism

The Historicist view holds that Revelation is a symbolic presentation of the entire course of the history of the church from the close of the first century to the end of time. In other words, Revelation is a prewritten account of the course of history from the time of John to the end of the world. Fulfillment is ongoing and has been so for almost two thousand years. A historist would see in the symbolism of the book such events as the invasions of Rome, the rise of the Roman Catholic church, and the emergence of Islam.

The Preterist Approach - Preterism

The term "preterism" has its origin in the Latin word "preter" which means "past". Preterists believe that many of the prophecies in Revelation have already been fulfilled and would point to the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 as fulfilling most of Revelation before chapter 20. A preterist would hold the view that the book of Revelation is not about the second coming of Christ, but rather a book about the destruction of Israel and Christ's victory over His enemies. Despite this view, most (but not all) preterists still believe in a future second coming of Jesus Christ.

The Futurist Approach - Futurism

The futurist approach holds that the majority of prophecies in Revelation have not yet been fulfilled and are to be fulfilled at some stage in the future. Most futurists believe that everything after chapter four will come true in a relatively short period before the return of Jesus, including a rapture or taking up of the church and a seven year period of tribulation.

The Idealist Approach - Idealism

Idealists do not attempt to find individual fulfillments of the visions but instead stress the lessons or principles that can be learned from prophecy. For example an idealist would say that one lesson to be learned from Revelation is that good will overcome evil in the end.

Which of these approaches is correct? That's impossible to say. For every strength to be found in each view there is an equivalent flaw or weakness.

There is an old saying that minds are like parachutes - they work best when open. It is certainly best to keep an open mind while studying Revelation.

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